This demonstrates precisely why power needs to devolve away from the nation’s capital and back to states, as our founders intended

(National Sentinel) Pro-Life: A woman’s ‘right’ to an abortion may be the law of the land, but that doesn’t mean taxpayers should be forced to subsidize them, according to Texas lawmakers.

The state has passed legislation permanently banning the use of taxpayer funds for abortions, Lifesite Newsreports. The law will keep Texas residents for subsidizing elective abortions via their insurance plans.

“As a firm believer in Texas values I am proud to sign legislation that ensures no Texan is ever required to pay for a procedure that ends the life of an unborn child,” Gov. Abbott said. “This bill prohibits insurance providers from forcing Texas policy holders to subsidize elective abortions. I am grateful to the Texas legislature for getting this bill to my desk, and working to protect innocent life this special session.”

The site reported further:

HB-214, which the House passed last week and the Senate approved Sunday, applies to “elective” abortions and specifically includes an exemption for cases of medical emergency to save the mother’s life.

“What we’re saying here is: If you want to buy this coverage, you can buy it,” Republican Rep. John Smithee said during the House debate. “This isn’t about who can get an abortion. It is about who is forced to pay for an abortion.”

“Texas must take steps to prohibit taxpayer and premium dollars from subsidizing abortions that are not medically necessary,” Republican Sen. Brandon Creighton said.

More:

Gov. Abbott called a special legislative session to focus on the bill, along with another bill to require doctors and health clinics to report abortion complications to the state in greater detail. That second bill passed both state chambers on Friday.

“Just because abortion is legal does not mean that people who have significant moral concerns with the taking of innocent life — as they believe abortion does —- need to pay for it through their health insurance, said Abby Johnson, a former Planned Parenthood director in Texas who now runs And Then There Were None. “Abortion advocates automatically go to the far reaches of hysteria and assume the worst with this kind of legislation: that women won’t be able to get abortions when they want them. Women have access to abortion but those of us who believe it is the intentional ending of a human life shouldn’t have to pay for it.”

Pro-abortion groups inside and outside the Lone Star State attempted to thwart the legislation, but to no avail.

While abortions continue in Texas, the state’s pro-life approach and matching legislation have led to major decreases in the numbers of elective procedures — from more than 82,000 reported in 2006 to just over 54,000 in 2015, Lifesite News reported.

This demonstrates precisely why power needs to devolve away from the nation’s capital and back to states, as our founders intended; residents in states that want to promote or restrict certain behavior — abortion, smoking pot, or other personal activities — should be free to decide such issues on their own, without being subject to ‘one-size-fits-all’ mandates from Congress, federal courts or the Washington bureaucracy.